Medical Malpractice

Health Care Negligence Lawyers Serving the Savannah Area

When you go to the doctor, you expect that they will use the utmost care to diagnose and treat you. Unfortunately, doctors and other health care professionals make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes are catastrophic or deadly. While not every medical error is medical malpractice, when a health care professional’s mistakes cause your injuries, you may have a basis to sue. At the Suthers & Harper, our Savannah medical malpractice attorneys can help people who have been hurt by a health care professional’s negligence. We will fight for all the compensation to which you are entitled as you focus on the process of healing from your injuries.

Assert Your Rights Through a Medical Malpractice Claim

Medical malpractice happens if a medical professional, such as a doctor or nurse, violates the applicable standard of care in providing health care services, thereby causing injuries or death. The standard of care consists of the accepted standards and practices used by similar medical professionals to diagnose and treat patients.

The standard of care may vary depending on the particular patient. For example, an obstetrician might treat a sickly or high risk 40-year-old pregnant woman’s symptoms differently from those of a healthy 25-year-old who is pregnant. Under Georgia law, it is necessary to retain a qualified expert witness to testify about what the standard of care is, explain how the defendant health care provider breached the standard, and explain how the provider’s actions or omissions caused the injuries. This is why it is critical to retain a medical malpractice lawyer in the Savannah area who knows how to build these complex cases.

Causation may be challenging to prove, depending on the nature of the medical malpractice at issue. However, expert testimony is admissible in Georgia when scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge would help the jury understand the evidence or decide a fact. The expert must be licensed by the appropriate regulatory agency in Georgia and have actual professional knowledge and experience in the specialty or practice in which the opinion will be provided. The doctor must have actively practiced in that area for at least three of the last five years or taught for at least three of the last five years as an employed member of an accredited educational institution, as well as meeting other requirements. Knowledgeable, qualified experts may make a big difference to your case. The medical malpractice attorneys at our Savannah firm can retain persuasive experts on your behalf.

Medical malpractice lawsuits may be brought to seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment. Unlike in some states, you may request punitive damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit in Georgia. These may be awarded if there is clear and convincing evidence showing that the provider acted with fraud, malice, or willful misconduct in diagnosing or treating you.

Retain a Medical Negligence Attorney

Doctors and other health care professionals are obliged to provide diagnoses and treatment at a level that is accepted by the medical community. Unfortunately, the mistakes that health care professionals make have the ability to change your life forever. At the Suthers & Harper, our Savannah medical malpractice lawyers may be able to represent you in a claim for damages. Our firm also assists injured people in Atlanta, Watkinsville, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Roswell, Athens, Marietta, Stone Mountain, Decatur, Pooler, Brunswick and Statesboro, and other communities in Oconee, Gwinnett, Clark, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Chatham, Glynn and Bulloch Counties. Contact us by calling 1.800.320.2384 or completing our online form to set up a free consultation with a birth trauma attorney or seek assistance with another type of medical malpractice claim.